Monaco fail to close in for Champions League place

Monaco’s Dimitar Berbatov in action as his team were held to draw by a well organised Montpellier side

Paris, April 8 (IANS): Fourth-placed Monaco were held to a 0-0 draw with Montpellier on Tuesday in a rescheduled round 25 match. They missed a chance to close the gap in the Ligue 1 title race, a media report said on Wednesday. A win at home would have meant the principality outfit would be tied on points with Marseille in third, the final UEFA Champions League qualifying place, Xinhua reported.

Leonardo Jardin's team now have 55 points with seven games to go in the first division soccer league, two behind Marseille, six behind Lyon and seven behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

A well-organised Montpellier side, who had just one loss in their last eight trips, denied the home side chances to score and could have made it worse had Lucas Barrios not missed a second half penalty.

Montpellier are now seventh with 49 points before heading to struggling Toulouse on Sunday. Monaco, the Champions League quarterfinalists to visit Juventus on April 14, will play 12th placed Caen on Friday.